The Devil's Blade

𝟷𝟾 || 𝙼𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜: 𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜

Anxiety churns within me as I try to settle into this unfamiliar environment. Every room in this building radiates years of craftsmanship, and its people move through it with visible pride. Erik, our constant companion for the day due to his new responsibilities, guides us through the various departments, delivering a perfectly memorized explanation of each room. But his words blur into the background as I absently scan the spaces we pass.

We pause briefly outside the nursing room as Erik explains its importance. I catch only fragments of his speech as a figure inside the room catches my eye. The room contains just a few beds and a single female nurse, who paces as if searching for something. But it's the girl in the back of the room that catches my eye. She lies tied to a bed, her face covered by an iron mask. One of her wrists is connected to multiple machines displaying data I can't interpret. The sight triggers a forgotten memory. I remember sitting on a cold, damp floor, my tiny wrists bruised and handcuffed to the legs of a bed. My vision was nothing but black emptiness. When I open my eyes, I'm back in Mavis, standing before the nursing room's closed door. Behind the girl's bed stands my mother, her eyes white and empty, staring at me. The sight sends shivers down my spine. I quickly turn away, trying to block out the haunting image, and follow Erik as he continues the tour.

Shortly after, we enter a bustling training space filled with swordsmen intimidatingly carrying their weapons around. Our tour guide, delivers another perfect speech about the combat trainings that are practiced here.

"Come on, you guys should meet your trainer," Erik says, gesturing for us to follow him.

I follow reluctantly behind him before I inadvertently wander too close to a swordsman in training. A knife whizzes past me, embedding itself into the wall. The swordsman retrieves it without a word of apology, leaving me speechless. I couldn't help but feel it was my fault for interrupting.

Eventually, I spot Erik approaching a muscular man in the distance. The man reaches out his hand and shakes mine firmly.

"My name's Castian Mitchels, the trainer for beginners and reinforcement swordsmen. It's a pleasure to meet you," He introduces with a deep voice.

"Likewise," I reply.

"Sorry about Rheino," he says nodding to the knife-throwing trainee, "He's a bit temperamental."

"Oh no, it's fine," I assure him. "Don't worry about it."

We cut our meeting with Castian short and head to our next destination: the weaponroom, a chamber cast in the glow of countless weapons hanging on the walls. From swords to polearms, daggers to bows and arrows, this room has them all in different colours and sizes. Less than a minute into admiring the collection, we get greeted by two guys that introduce themselves as Simon and Gale.

"My brother and I were science students before the tragedy occurred," Simon explains, "Mavis took us in after we lost our family, and we created a weapon that could hurt an inhuman enough to delay their healing ability."

His brother, Gale, grabs a white-bladed sword off the wall.

"Feel it," Simon offers.

I hesitate but eventually give in and put my fingertips on top of the blade. Almost immediately, I could feel the nerves in my fingers contract, and I pull my hand away reflexively.

Simon smiles, "The blade is made of liquid nitrogen. It's our best work, took us more than six months to perfect. Since liquid nitrogen is also harmful to humans, we had to find a way to hide it beneath a layer but keep it harmful enough to the inhuman."

"That's impressive..." I say uncomfortably. 

"And what are these?" Kai calls out from across the room.

I catch a glimpse of Erik's displeased gaze in the distance as Kai snoops around. Simon on the other hand, is happy to talk about his creations.

"These are energy circlets. They're filled with a substance created from a small sample of inhuman blood." 

Kai's head jerks up. "And what do you use these for?"

"They're rarely used. Only in real emergencies when the swordsman might need a power-up."

Suddenly, the situation turns for the worse. Kai grabs Simon by the collar, and Erik draws his sword in a reflex, pointing it at Kai.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to let inhuman cells enter a human body!?" Kai demands.

"It's not dangerous," Simon counters. "Do you think I'd endanger an innocent human without understanding my own creations?"

"Clearly, you don't know what you're doing," Kai retorts.

"Enough!" Erik shouts. "Let go of him."

Kai hesitantly releases Simon's collar.

"We'll get going," Erik says. "We'll let them pick out their weapons tomorrow."

Simon nods. "As you wish."

After leaving the weapon room, Erik guides us to our assigned dorms in silence. The three of us are placed together, while Zhena seperates to her own dorm halfway through. In our room, we meet our fourth roomate, Spencer, who introduces himself with a bright smile. His sunny personality acting like a soothing balm to my own unease.

Erik then hands me my uniform, and I go to change in the bathroom. After succesfully changing into the black attire, I complete the look with the official Mavis logo on my chest— a golden compass brooch. It looks familiar somehow but my knowledge refuses to tell me what it reminds me of. I check myself in the mirror, brushing off the clothing, and mentally pushing away the growing discomfort forming inside my head.

Heading to the dining hall as instructed by Erik, I bump into Zhena and her roommates on the way.

"Looking good!" Zhena compliments me on my uniform look.

"Thank you," I reply shyly.

"So, you're the inhuman travel buddy of my new roommate, huh?" A bright red haired girl interjects. "My name is Rachel. Nice to meet you."

I offer her my best smile. "Alexander, and it's nice to meet you too."

Rachel's enthusiasm seems to brighten the hallway as she continues. "So, Alexander, where are you from? Zhena mentioned you met on your way north."

"I'm from Preston ville," I respond, trying to keep my tone light. "I ran away after the tragedy, and we met shortly after."

"Wow, it must be destiny," Rachel comments.

I blush slightly at her cheesy remark.

"Wait, now that you mention it, I think I heard that name somewhere before." Rachel says.

"Really? That's surprising, most people don't know about it since it's such a small village—"

Rachel claps her hands as if she just remembered something important. "That's right! There are two other people here from Preston ville. I don't know, you might know them."

"What? Wait do you know their na—" I begin, but my speech gets cut off as we enter the bustling dining hall.

Every swordsmen stands at our arrival, surprising us with a chorus of 'welcomes'. I awkwardly nod in response to the greeting as I walk over to the dinner queue. I can feel all the eyes on me, curious whispers murmuring through the hall, making my palm sweat. With dinner on my plateau, I spot Erik at a table and join him, with Zhena taking a seat besides me shortly after.

"This place is overwhelming," I admit to her. "I feel like I'm being judged just by walking."

"I think they're just curious about you," Zhena replies.

"Maybe..."

Then I feel a light tap on my shoulder from Erik, urging me to introduce myself to the table. It was then that I see that everyone is paying attention to me. I clear my throat and introduce myself shortly. The table remains silent, not showing much reaction, and Rheino openly shows his disinterest in me with a scoff. Only Eli, another member at the table, offers me a friendly handshake. Later on, as we enjoyed our dinner, the table gradually eases up, making room for some smiles and laughter.

Our conversations are interrupted by a woman initiating a celebratory toast to us. Soon, bottles of liquor pass over to each table, and when the bottle reaches me, I curiously smell its contents, immediately hesitating to pour the substance in my glass and Zhena notices.

"Not a fan of the local brew?" Zhena asks, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

I give a small laugh, shrugging. "Just trying to figure out what it is. Smells... strong."

Zhena leans in closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "It's a traditional Northern drink called samogon. Homemade. Strong is an understatement." She winks.

I raise an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

Zhena chuckles softly, the sound almost lost in the festive noise around us. "Lightweight?"

I shrug. "I don't know; it's my first time trying."

Her eyes widen. "Goodluck," she says grinning. "If needed, Erik and I will carry you back to your room."

"Good to know," I say, still hesitant. I glance at the glass in front of me, then back at the bottle. "Have you had it before?"

She nods, her expression growing a bit more serious. "Yes. My father used to love a drink from time to time."

I study her face for a moment, then pour a small amount into my glass. "Well, then I'll give it a try."

"To... a new beginning."

Zhena lifts her own glass, smiling warmly. "To a new beginning."

We clink glasses and I take a cautious sip. The liquid burns as it goes down, but it's not unpleasant. Zhena watches me, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Not bad," I manage, coughing slightly. "Definitely strong, though."

Zhena laughs lightly. "You want another glass?"

I hesitantly look at the bottle in her hands. "Sure."

The night continues on peacefully and I had a few more drinks. I figured out I must really be a lightweight because after my third glass the alcohol already started to affect me. I then decide to call it a night, disposing of my leftovers and bidding farewell to the table.

The hallway spins slightly as I made my way back to the dorm room, the alcohol making my steps unsteady. Moonlight filters through the windows, casting soft light over the floor and illuminating the room numbers on the doors. I focuse on my door in the distance, hoping to make it without stumbling over my own feet.

But then I abruptly halt. At the end of the hallway, a shadowy figure stands, barely visible in the dim light. The hairs on my arms stand up, and a heavy weight settles on my chest as the figure begins to move closer, its features becoming clearer with each step. My breath caught in my throat as I recognise the empty milky white eyes of my mother standing before me again. A soft lullaby echoes through the halls, a familiar melody that increases the fear clawing at my insides. I try to shake off the memory, but it only grows stronger, pulling me deeper into its grip. What do you want? I think to myself as my gaze remains fixed on my mother. But in a desperate need to move from my spot, I abruptly turned around, colliding with someone.

I look up, preparing for my apology when I find myself staring at two familiar faces. My heart races in my chest as I stare at Liam and Jude in the hallway, my head flooding with countless emotion but that soon changes into one— confusion.

It is their less-than-enthusiastic expressions that make me think that perhaps our reunion isn't going to be as joyous as I thought it would be.